June 2nd Pauper Challenge Winner's Metagame

So Modern Horizons has been fully revealed and is coming to Magic Online this Friday. Pauper is going to look different very soon. However we still have a post-ban, pre-Modern Horizons challenge to go over. And wow was June 2nd a doozy. There were 22 archetypes in the Top 32 and no deck had more than three appearances - we see you Burn.

So two weeks into the world after the Blue Monday bans, the challenges have send 30 different archetypes. If you want to group certain archetypes together - e.g. all Flicker Tron, all Tireless Tribe - there are 26 macro-archetypes. In the four weeks leading up to the bans there were 20 distinct archetypes and 18 macros. If the goal of the bans was to increase format diversity the early returns seem to indicate success.

Izzet Delver is making a comeback. Despite losing out on Gush it still runs a high density of powerful cards. Turns out that both Think Twice and Accumulated Knowledge are good cards. The lone Dimir Delver deck that placed this week looked more like its Izzet cousin than the old Delver of Secrets - Gurmag Angler decks from previous seasons. 

I want to take some time to discuss two lists from this most recent challenge. The 6-0 Dimir Control deck and the winning Bant Freed Familiars.

Dimir Control is not a new deck, per se. Across the two last two challenges these decks, which resemble Forbidden Alchemy lists absent the eponymous card, has gone 12-0 in the Swiss. That's a small sample size but it is promising. Accumulated Knowledge makes it reasonable to run more expensive threats and reactive spells so relying on Gurmag Angler to get the job done might just be good enough.

Accumulated Knowledge does not require you to run a heavy Island mana base. The fact that you do not need early untapped blue for Delver of Secrets makes running Dimir Aqueduct and Dismal Backwater reasonable. The result is that this build can reasonable cast and flashback Chainer's Edict and play both modes of Mulldrifter. Dimir Control wants to play out its lands. The result is something that can pivot from draw-go style control to going on the attack on a dime. 

Dimir Control shows promise. Even though the deck went out in the semifinals both weeks, losing to Elves and Boros Monarch, it has the kind of shell that can easily adapt to different metagames. It is not impossible to imagine a build with maindeck copy of Pestilence or its own copy of Thorn of the Black Rose. Definitely a list to watch.

Please understand that what I say next is intended with the utmost amount of respect. This deck is a lot. Raptor56 is a Pauper brewer and grinder and it's awesome to see their hard work and ideas pay off. Raptor has credited another Pauper regular Trochk with the deck and honestly, this thing is interesting. It takes elements of Freed from the Real combo and Familiar-Ghostly Flicker combo. It lacks the traditional spout of a Freed from the Real deck - whether it's a Rolling Thunder or a Flamewave Invoker - but instead leans on a Flicker Tron kill of Mulldrifter beats or Compulsive Research mill.

Like I said, a lot.

I am interested to see if this deck can catch on or if it struck at the perfect time. Time will tell, but it does get a nice tool from Modern Horizons in Stream of Thought.

So that's it. War of the Spark season is over. Six weeks of challenges and we saw a seismic shift in Pauper. And now everything is going to change again. 

It's a lot.

2019 is going to be a banner year for Pauper. I want to continue to be at the forefront of the metagame. If you like the work I do, please consider becoming a Patron. Thank you!